


To Live Life Inside of a Mirror

by sweetiedarling



Series: Dysfunctional Family [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Angst, Gen, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, No Incest, Siblings, Sort Of, but he can still see ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-07 19:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20980964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetiedarling/pseuds/sweetiedarling
Summary: Seeing ghosts was probably the worst thing ever. His siblings thought it was all sunshine and daisies, that he could just see people who were dead, that the ghosts looked just like everybody else and minded their business. They were wrong. At least his mirror twin understood.Or, Klaus has a mirror twin.[Based on something mentioned in passing in the Miss Peregrine books]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So basically, this idea has been stuck in my head all day and I have to write it otherwise i won't stop thinking about it.
> 
> I read the MPHFPC books after the movie came out ages ago and in the most recent book (i think?) there is a brief passing remark where a hotel clerk asks the main characters if they have any mirror twins, and that always intrigued me because how cool would that be? Anyway, i was thinking about it and then realised that would an awesome thing to write about with Klaus. So, here we are.

Seeing the ghosts had never been a good thing. Okay, maybe that's a lie. At first, when he was younger and didn't realise what they were, it had been all right. They'd never screamed at him or begged him to help them, or cried his name until Four flinched upon hearing his siblings saying it. And they'd been surprisingly good conversationalists (well, Nana had- she was a lovely old woman who sat in the corner and knitted ghostly scarves, and insisted he call her Nana).

Anyway, as soon as Four found out that the people he could see weren't imaginary, but were actually dead people, they had turned on him. They began screaming at him, crying his name all hours of the day. They went from looking like ordinary people to the goriest looking things Four had ever had the displeasure of laying his eyes upon. Even Nana changed. Instead of a wearing lovely white nighty and knitting a scarf, the pyjamas turned red with blood, and the pink wool in her hands turned to innards that leaked from her stomach. He couldn't stand the sight of her; couldn't even bear to think her name.

One night, at the age of six, when the ghosts got particularly bad, he had locked himself in the bathroom, hoping he might get some privacy in there. It was a ridiculous notion, but he had been young and it was all he could think to do. He had stood with his hands gripping the sink, shoulders shaking as he bit back sobs.

Then he looked up into the mirror, staring at his own tired reflection. He shouldn't have dark circles under his eyes at the age of six, and he shouldn't be so pale, but there he was, looking thin and sickly.

"Why is this happening to me?" He questioned himself. "What's wrong with me?"

A wet sob slipped past his lips and he looked away from the mirror. 

"Nothing's wrong with you, Four, it's the ghosts," something with his voice answered and Klaus yelped, looking up and stepping away from the sink. He warily checked out the room, looking for a stray ghost or something- he didn't know what it was, but it had his voice and he wanted answers (or to run and hide, either one of those).

"Who are you?" He whispered. "Show yourself!"

"Over here," the same voice answered almost immediately, "in the mirror."

"In the..." Four started, but left the question hanging as he carefully returned to the mirror, prepared to run should he need to. He had no idea what was gone, but he knew it wasn't normal.

When he returned to the mirror, he saw himself, only... it wasn't really him. It wasn't a reflection, it was just something _in _the mirror that looked exactly like him. He watched in fear and confusion as the _thing__'s _mouth that was identical to his own smiled. But he hadn't smiled, so how had the reflection done so? The reflection waved, though Four hadn't.

"What are you? How are you doing that? Am I imagining this?" Four asked question after question.

"What do you mean 'what are you?'?" The reflection retorted, casuing Four's mouth to fall open. "I'm your brother. Well, your twin. Your mirror twin, to be exact. And no, you're not imagining this."

"'Mirror twin'? What's that?"

"A twin," the reflection- mirror twin- said, "who lives in a mirror."

"How can you live in a mirror? That's impossible," Four folded his arms much like Five did whenever he said something smart, "mirrors reflect things. People can't live in them."

"And people aren't supposed to see ghosts or have monsters living in their stomachs, or teleport everywhere, but you and our brothers can," the mirror twin shrugged.

"They're not your brothers, they're mine!" Four snapped defensively.

"Well, I'm your twin, which, by default, makes them my brothers, too," the twin shrugged with a smirk.

"You sound like Five," Four pulled a face. Then, "do you have a name?"

"Of course not, I live in a mirror. No one but you has ever seen me," for once the mirror twin seemed dejected, their joker facade wilting a little.

"Oh," Four also felt dejected. Somehow, he'd expected this mirror twin of his to have a name. "Do you want one?"

His mirror twin's eyes widened a little with barely contained excitement and he smiled.

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course! You've got to have a name, I can't just keep calling you my mirror twin," Four pointed out.

"What should my name be, then?"

"Let's see," Four put his finger to his chin thoughtfully, "well, my name is Four and everything up to Seven is taken, so... You can be called Eight!"

"But that's a number," the not-reflection pointed out.

"I know, but my name is a number, too. And besides, Four times two is Eight! And you're my twin. There's two of me and that has to make you Eight, right? It's genius!" Four smiled hopefully, looking at his newfound brother.

For a moment he believed the boy would reject the name and choose something that wasn't a number, but then he grinned, eyes excited and nodded eagerly. 

"Great thinking, Four!" He said. "That settles it, then. My name is Eight."

Four made a congratulatory noise and fist pumped the air. He had a new brother and he had been the one to give him a name. It was probably the best day of his life. But as he was celebrating with his newfound brother, Eight, something came to him.

"Wait!" He protested, cutting off Eight's recollection of always being in the mirror, but Four never sticking around long enough to talk to him.

"What is it?" Eight asked.

"I need to tell dad."

"Tell him what?"

"About you, of course!" Four explained obviously. "If we discover anything that might even possibly be a power, we have to tell him straight away."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Four?" Eight asked warily. He looked unsure.

"Well, if I don't tell him and he finds out, I'll be in trouble," Four said, "I think it's best to just tell him now."

There was a moment of silence as Eight looked to the side, something unreadable on his face before he sighed and turned back to Four, nodding his head. 

"You're right," he said, "you should tell him. Is there a mirror in his office?"

"I think so, yeah. Why?"

"I'll meet you down there."

And with that he stepped out of view and Four's actual reflection returned as if it had never been gone. It unnerved Four how it had happened. One minute Eight was walking away, and then he blinked and his reflection was back. It was almost as if he had imagined it, but with his memoties so vivid, he knew he hadn't.

With the widest grin, he unlocked the bathroom door and ran out, almost colliding with Number Five as he did so. He gained an insult from his brother at that, but as he continued running, he called out an apology and explained that he couldn't stop.

He had never run down the hall to his father's office so fast in his life. Usually, he avoided it like the plague, but today was important. Today he had discovered something so amazing that he had to share it with his father.

Four came to a screeching halt outside of Reginald's office, breath quick and a silly grin on his face. He brought his hand up with only a brief hesitation (would it really be so bad if his dad didn't find out? He thought), then knocked four times.

Silence reigned supreme from the other side of the office, before his father's voice floated through the door, cold and calculated.

"Enter, Number Four."

Steeling himself, Four reached forward and opened the door. He stepped over the threshold, making sure to leave the door open, lest he be locked in the same room as his father. He stood awkwardly, watching his father continue to scribble in his infamous notebook, unsure if he should talk or wait to be addressed again.

"Well? What is it, boy?" His father snapped at him, and Four startled.

"Um, I believe I've discovered something new, father," Four reported dutifully. He wasn't sure whether to call it a power because could a person inside a mirror really be referred to as a power? But what else could he call it without his father writing him off as delusional before letting him explain?

"What is it?" Reginald seemed to finally be intrigued, putting his pen down at last and tearing his gaze away from his book to look at one of his biggest disappointments.

Four looked around the room and spotted a mirror on the wall. It was too high for him so he quickly dragged a chair over to it, ignoring his father's angry insults and questions, and then stepped onto the chair.

"What on Earth do you think you're doing, Number Four? Are you looking to earn yiurself extra training?" Reginald snapped, getting up from his own chair to stride around his desk and over to Four.

"Just watch, please," Four begged his father, who still looked angry, but thankfully stayed silent.

Turning back to the mirror, Four watched as a second later, his reflection disappeared whilst his dad's stayed. He privately grinned at his father's stunned face, safe in the knowledge that he couldn't see his face from his position behind him. 

"Fascinating," Reginald muttered to himself.

"That's not the best part," Four told him proudly.

And, as if on queue, Number Eight showed up, walking into view from the side of the mirror and positioning himself in the centre, almost mirroring Four, except one of them had their arms crossed whilst the other didn't.

"Father, this is Number Eight, my mirror twin," Four introduced, looking away for a moment to see his father's astonished face as he looked between the two of them. It wasn't ever day their father showed so much emotion on his face and Four took pleasure in the knowledge that he'd been the one to cause it this time.

"Mirror twin? Number Eight?" Reginald inquired calmly, his face finally back to its casual disapproving expression.

"Yeah, he's my twin who lives in a mirror. He didn't have a name and considering he's my brother, I named him Eight because everything from One to Seven was taken," Four shrugged, explaining everything casually despite having only learned all of that himself just half an hour ago.

"Extroadinary," Reginald repeated, grabbing his notebook and pen. He flipped to a fresh page and wrote 'Number Eight' at the top. "And can this Number Eight speak?"

"This Number Eight is right here," Eight sassed, looking mildly annoyed.

"Amazing," Reginald looked up only briefly to eye the mirror twin before continuing to write, "and how long has he been around?"

"Ever since Four was born," Eight answered for himself despite the questions being directed at Four.

"Is this true? And why didn't you come to me with this sooner, Four?" Reginald demanded crossly, gaze going straight to Four.

"I-I didn't know until half an hour ago, I promise," Four explained.

"He's telling the truth," Eight defended Four, "he never stuck around long enough for me to show myself."

Reginald hummed and turned back to his book.

"Is there a limit to how long you can... present yourself?"

"I live in here," Eight said simply, as if that was an answer. Reginald didn't seem to mind, turning to a new page to write some more.

"What about sustenance? Do you need to eat? Drink?"

"I live in a mirror," Eight repeated flatly. This earned him a small frown from Reginald as he adjusted his monocle before continuing to scribble in his book.

"I presume you can mive from mirror to mirror?"

Eight nodded. 

"Any mirror?"

Another nod. 

"What about any reflective surfaces? A window, perhaps? Liquids?"

"I don't know, I've never tried," Eight snapped, folding his arms defensively with an unimpressed face.

"I see," Reginald snapped his books closed, the noise making Four jump slightly, "well, this shall have to be further explored. Until now, you are dismissed. Both of you."

The last part was said with a slightly raised eyebrow, as if he was unsure. Then he walked past Four and out of his office, leaving Four and Eight alone. The two shared a look, Four still stood on the chair.

Something passed over Four's face.

"I've just had an amazing idea," he shot Eight a mischievous look. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Five."
> 
> Five whirled around in annoyance for the second time, piercing eyes trying to track down the owner of the voice. When he found Four he was going to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably be a few errors because it's 2am and I'm funcitoning on a monster energy drink lol, so please forgive me. I'll go back in the end to proof read but a fee typos or whatever might still escape me. 
> 
> Also, I kept accidentally saying klaus instead of four, so if you spot that, please tell me and I'll change it, thank you

After telling Eight where to meet him, Four wasted no time in leaving his dad's office and running through the house to meet his newfound brother. He rushed back down the hallway and into his bedroom where he quicklt, but quietly, closed the door behins him. He then bounded in front of his mirror on the wall and watched impatiently, waiting for Eight to appear.

He stepped into view a second later and Four smiled.

"So, what's on your mind, Four?" Eight asked.

... 

Sitting in the library, his nose in a book way too advanced for a boy his age, Five took notes in his notebook without even looking up. His handwriting was all over the place anyway, so it wouldn't make much of a differnet whether he paid attention to what he wrote or not.

With his left hand, he flipped the page of his book and started reading again. It was a book on advanced maths, a higher level than he and his siblings were currently learning during their lessons, but easy to understand nonetheless. Then again, he had always had a knack for mathematics and physics. His siblings didn't quite seem to grasp it, though. Well, Six and Seven didn't do too bad in lessons, but they was nowhere near as advanced as Five.

He reached bottom of the page once again just as he underlined something important to remember in his notebook. He turned his sights to the next page. 

"Psst, Five!" Someone hissed.

Five clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his pen. He didn't have time for Four's childish games.

"What?" He snapped, not even looking up from his book.

There was no reply, so Five shook his head and went back to the equations being explained in the book. 

"Five!" Four's annoying voice reached his ears again and this time Five did look up, if only to glare at the bookshelf in front of him.

"What, Four? I don't have time for your games right now," he said, turning around to try and spot his brother. He couldn't see him, but he would bet a lot of money that ghost boy was hiding behind one of the bookshelves.

Once again, Four ignored his response so Five grit his teeth and harshly turned to the book open in front of him, practically shoving his face into it to ignore the annoying whispers from his brother. 

"Five."

Five whirled around in annoyance for the second time, piercing eyes trying to track down the owner of the voice. When he found Four he was going to kill him. He couldn't see his brother, though, so that was going to be hard.

He looked at his book and, as a makeshift bookmark, he closed his notebook and shoved it inbetween the pages of the maths book. He picked it up, put his pen in his blazer pocket, and stood from his seat.

"Four, when I find you, I'm going to kill you," Five muttered, more to himself than his brother. Who admitted to their victim that they were going to kill them before they had them in their grasp? That would just give them time to escape.

Five wandered the entire length or the library at least four times, but he couldn't find Four. Everytime he thought he was getting close, his brother's voice would move to the other end of the library and he would be forced to retrace his steps, but he couldn't see him anywhere! Five was getting agitated. His brother just kelt whispering and snickering his name, but he couldn't see him!

Was this some new power Four had discovered? The power of invisibility? It was entirely plausable, but then why couldn't he hear his brother moving around to avoid him whenever Five got close? All he could hear was his name being called repeatedly. Maybe he'd finally gone insane after six years of living under Hargreeves' roof. That was also entirely plausable.

"Five!" Four's voice shouted, right behind him.

"What?" Five retorted just as loud, whirling around in anger only to come face to face with a mirror. His angered face was reflected back at him. "Where the hell are you, Four? I don't have time for your games! Show yourself!"

There was a snicker as Five heaved heavy breaths, his jaw clenched so tightly, he could almost feel his teeth cracking.

And then, before his very eyes, his reflection started to disappear from the mirror. The room around him was still there, but he'd just faded away. Five's brows furrowed in confusion, and he watched perplexed as his own self was replaced by... a grinning Number Four.

"Boo!" Four, in the mirror, exclaimed.

"What the hell?" Five snapped. "How are you inside that mirror, Four? Is this some new power you've discovered?"

Quickly, he opened his notebook and removed his pen from his pocket, ready to document any new power his brother might have come across. He wouldn't allow himself to be caught off guard again. Any new power his siblings discovered was always written down in his notebook, so he was prepared for any stupid jokes they might pull. This new power of Four's, though, might be the trickiest to get around.

If Four could travel via mirror (or possibly any reflective surface), who knows what kind of trouble the boy would get into.

"Actually, no," Four said, "I'm not Four."

"Don't be stupid, Four, of course you are," Five said, closing his notebook again, "I don't know anyone else with your stupid mug."

"Wow, I dont know if I should be offended or not, brother dearest," a voice, Four's voice, came from behind him.

Five quickly turned around, almost giving himself whiplash, and came face to face with Four. He turned back again, and Four was still in the mirror. He did a double take. There was two Four's.

"What's going on? Have you duplicated yourself or something?" Five demanded to know.

"Wow, and I thought Luther was slow," Four, the one outside of the mirror laughed. "No, I haven't duplicated myself, Five."

"Then what is this? How are you inside and outside of the mirror at the same time?"

Four gestured to himself in the mirror.

"This is Number Eight, my mirror twin," he explained, "I found out about him earlier. Apparently he's been around for as long as I've been alive, I just never realised it. He's his own person, he just lives inside mirrors."

"If you've only just found out about him, why is he called Number Eight?" Five inquired, an eyebrow raised as he looked back to, not Four, but Eight.

"He didn't have a name so I gave him one," Four grinned, looking genuinely pleased with himself.

"Oh," Five made a noncommittal face, "well, it's nice to meet you, Eight. Welcome to the family, I guess. Don't pull anything like this again, though, or I'll kill you both."

And he was serious. He gave them both looks that got his message across and then he was gone in a flash of light, back to his room to document the entire encounter. A mirror twin could be interesting, he supposed. He briefly wondered if Eight could leave the confines of the mirrors, but then shelved the thought in the back of his mind for another time.

...

After that, one by one, Four and Eight go about messing with their siblings, slowly letting them know about the new addition to the family. It's hilarious, if only to see Diego squeal like a little girl, Luther drop his half made toy plane, Allison cry out in alarm as Eight appeared in her vanity mirror, and for Vanya, quiet, timid Vanya, to let out a cry so unexpected from her that Four couldn't even laugh for a moment.

By the time he and Eight are done, though, his siblings are rightfully annoyed at them for introducing Eight in such way. And sure, Fiur could have introduced them to their new brother in a more well-mannered way, but where was the fun in that?

It was after dinner when Four ran from the table, eager to get back to his room and speak to Eight. He had barely been able to sit still during dinner, as excited as he was to get back to his brother. He wished Eight didn't live inside mirrors, so he wouldn't have to wait until he had access to one just so he could speak to his brother.

Still, he ran to his room as soon as dinner ended, almost feeling ill due to having finished eating not even a minute ago. He pushed open his bedroom door and stepped around it to find the mirror that hung on the wall beside it.

Only, it wasn't there. 

Four frowned in confusion and looked around his room just to be sure. Sure enough, his mirror was nowhere in sight. He groaned.

Of course.

His siblings must have hidden it from him because of his and Eight's joke earlier. They were trying to get back at him.

Shaking his head, Four whirled around, fully intending to go and confront his siblings and get his mirror (and by default, Eight himself) back, only to almost collide with someone. He gulped, taking in the sight of perfectly polished shoes and a cane.

He took a step back, looked up, and saw his dad's face peering down at him, usual disappointed scowl present.

"Sorry, sir," he stuttered, realising he'd been silent for too long, "I didn't see you there."

"Follow me, Number Four," Reginald ordered, "I have something special planned for you today."

"But, sir," Four began to protest, remembering he'd just been about to go and find his mirror.

"This is not up for debate, Number Four," Reginald interrupted, "now follow me and don't dawdle!"

Four wilted, watching his father stalk away and down the hallway before he followed him. He'd have to speak to his siblings later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short, but i wanted yo get it posted so i can focus on something else in the next chapter. Something kinda big is coming for the next chapter and I cant wait to post it :)
> 
> Thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Four and Eight swapped places, Four cried in fear.

Four left his room and followed behind Reginald in silence, the only sound disturbing it being the tapping of his father's cane on the hardwood floors and the distant sound of his sibling bickering. He kept his head down, even as his father led him to the basement where Six's training usually took place. He'd only been in there once before when Six had timidly shown him that, that was where he trained.

Unlike when Six had shown him the room, though, this time there were mirrors everywhere. Hung up on the wall, one on the ceiling, a few on the floor, lining the outskirts of the room. Some were big, some were small. Four even recognised his own bedroom mirror hanging on the wall in front if him. Apparently his siblings _hadn't_ taken it.

"Dad?" Four inquired curiously, looking away from his reflection in the many mirrors and towards Reginald.

Reginald turned to him, lips pressed thin.

"It seems we will have to postpone your trips to the mausoleum in light of this new... ability," Reginald claimed.

Four's heart skipped a beat at the knowledge he wouldn't be going to the mausoleum anymore, but before he could press that, the rest of the sentence rang in his head. 

"What ability? You mean Eight?" Four asked.

"Indeed," Reginald nodded, "summon him, Number Four."

"I can't summon him, father, he just appears by himself," Four informed Reginald.

In one of the mirrors, the one right in front of Four, his reflection faded away, though in the background of the mirror, he could still see his reflection painted on the other reflective surfaces. To replace his reflection in the mirror in front of him, Eight stepped into place. He looked disorientated and tired. 

"Ah," Reginald nodded, "I see you've decided to show yourself, Number Eight."

His notebook was already out and his cane was resting against the mirror covered wall. 

"W-what's going on? Why have the mirrors moved?" Eight rubbed his head and swiped over his eyes before focusing on his brother and Reginald again.

"Special training, Number Eight. If you're to be a part of the family, you have to train," Reginald told him seriously.

"Train? How am I supposed to do that? I live in here," Eight reminded him, arms crossed. Four mirrored him (excuse the pun) and turned to look at his father.

"I need to know how long it takes you to pass from mirror to mirror, whether you can ever leave your confines, if you can ever be present without Number Four," Reginald said and gestured with his hand, telling Eight to talk.

Eight looked at Four momentarily, both of them wearing frowns before the former turned back to Reginald.

"Uh, it usually takes me about a minute to go from mirror to mirror, and I've never tried to leave, so I'm not sure, and yes, I can be present without Four, but I choose not to be," Eight reported dutifully, a smile place at the end.

"I see," Reginald hummed, "well, it seems you will have to get over your childish fear of not being around Four if you wish to progress in life. You cannot let your brother weigh you down!"

"I'm not af-"

"And we shall have to see if you can leave your silly mirrors, so you can be a real member of the Academy."

"But I don't-"

"Now, to training," Reginald interrupted him again, "I want to see if we can improve the time it takes for you to move from mirror to mirror. Begin."

Four and Eight looked at each other once more before Eight sighed and began his journey to the mirror next to the one he was already in. 

...

Two hours later, Eight and Four were back in Four's room, his mirror having been returned by Grace along with all of the others. Eight looked exhausted as he leaned his arms and head on something unseen by Four.

"That wasn't fun," Eight murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Tell me about it," Four nodded, "I can't believe he smashed Two's mirror."

"Me either. Doesn't he knoe it's bad luck to break a mirror?"

Four snickered and hopped up on the dresser above which his mirror hung.

"I guess this means you're a real part of the Academy now, huh?"

"I suppose," Eight sighed, "I didn't want to be, though."

"I know. Maybe we shouldn't have told dad about you," Four rested his head on the wall.

"Maybe. But like you said, if you hadn't, he would have found out anyway and you would have been in trouble for not telling him straight away."

Four bobbed his head and looked around his room with a sigh. Then he jumped as Eight knocked on his side of the mirror, and he turned to his brother with wide eyes. 

"Hey! What if we could swap places for the day? How cool would that be?" Eight suggested with an excited grin.

Four looked behind Eight to where his bedroom was reflected behind the latter. It looked the exact same as what he was currently sitting in, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

"How do we do that?" Four asked and sat up straight.

"Uh, I don't know. You're the one outside the mirror. And the one with the powers," Eight reminded him and shrugged.

Nodding, Four slid off the dresser and grabbed the mirror, resting it on his bedside table so it was level with him. Eight wobbled a bit but settled down as soon as his mirror was steady again.

Four rolled his shoulers and stretched his arms above his head. He let out a breath of deep air and closed his eyes, his hands sticking out with his palms facing the mirror. 

There was a drawn out, tense silence as Eight watched Four concentrate, his face pinching up with effort. 

Soon enough, Four let out a breath of frustrated air when nothing happened. 

"It's not working," he stated obviously, eyes open and arms back by his sides.

"Maybe if we just..." Eight trailed off as he placed his palms against his side of the mirror.

Hesitantly, Four copied his brother, bringing his own hands up and placing them directly opposite Eight's.

Nothing happened for a second before there was a tugging sensation at the nape of their necks and their breath simultaneously caught in their throats. Everything when dark for a second and when they opened their eyes, they looked back at each other from different sides of the mirror. They'd successfully switched.

Eight's eyes widened and he removed his hands from the mirror to look around at his new, yet identical surroundings. He was outside of the mirror, in Four's actual room, rather than the reflection of it.

Four, however, was in the imitation of his bedroom and he was panicking. He couldn't touch anything, he could only see what the mirror could reflect- everything else was dark and smoky. He was confused and scared.

"Eight?" He whimpered, tearing his eyes away from the reflection of his room that he was currently sitting in. "Eight, let me out! I'm scared."

"What?" Eight asked with a frown. He was holding one of Four's shirts, feeling the fabric.

"Please," Four cried, "let me out! I don't want to be in here anymore, it's scary!"

"No, it's not. It's the same as your room," Eight told him.

"No! Everything else is all dark and- and- please, let me out, I'm scared!" Four placed his forehead against the glass and sobbed. It was like the ghosts had followed him inside the mirror but he couldn't see them. He could just hear them.

"You said we could swap. You said I could pretend to be you for the day!" Eight snapped, his own tears welling in his eyes.

"But I'm scared," Four hiccuped, "please, Eight. I don't like it in here."

"No," Eight shook his head, "don't be so selfish, Four. You promised me!"

"No, I didn't!" Four shoom his own head, eyebrows furrowed, "just let me out! Eight! Let me out! Come back! Ple- Eight, come back!"

But Eight was already gone. He'd tossed Four's shirt to the ground and stalked out of the room, wiping his tears as he left. The door shut behind him on the way out and Four faded away. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An apology is made.

When Eight left Four's room, he leant against the door for a second, guilt overwhelming him. He could just go back, apologise, and go back in the mirror- but, no. This was his first time in the real world, so to speak, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity given so freely to him.

With that thought in mind, Eight plastered a smile on his face and strolled down the corridor in search for one of the others.

...

He found Five first. It was fairly easy because all he had to do was follow the general direction of the library and he could hear his brother muttering equations from a mile off. Seriously, did Five ever do anything but study? Maybe all he needed was a little bit of chaos in his life to loosen up. Or one of Three's rumours.

Before he could step into the room, he stopped. Did he really want to spend his newfound freedom bothering Five? All it would earn him was an insult that would sting for a decade or a book to the face. Besides, Five wasn't a very good conversationalist, as he'd learned from six years of observation.

In the end, Eight turned away before he could actually enter the library. Maybe he'd find Six. He and Four seemed to be close. Six would humour him if he thought he was Four. And by default, Two might be there, which meant two actual interesting people to interact with.

After searching around, he found Two and One fighting in the back yard, and Six reading a book under one of trees. There wasn't a more perfect characterisation of his brothers than what he was seeing now.

Eight shook his head and decided he'd start with Six, not wanting to get in the middle of one of One and Two's sparring matches.

He hopped off the concrete step and headed down the lawn to Six. The entire way there, he enjoyed the feeling of actual fresh air on his face, the sound of birds chirping and dogs barking in the distance. The sun was out and it was warm on his face, a stark contrast to the wind. He grinned and slid down the tree trunk beside Six. 

"Hey, Six," he greeted as he pulled his socks and shoes off. He placed his feet on thr grass, wiggling his toes. Six stared at him oddly.

"Hi, Four," he said eventually, turning back to his book and shaking his head.

"What'cha reading?" Eight inquired. He wasn't really that curious because books and all that boring stuff didn't interest him, but it was something to speak about and Six liked them, so what the hell?

"A history book Mom gave me to help me in lessons," Six informed him. He turned the page.

"Oh," Eight nodded, already feeling bored. He hated history. He'd sat through a lot of his siblings' history lessons, just for the company even if they didn't know he was there, and he'd zoned out more times than he could count. "What's it about?"

"Vietnam."

"What's that?"

"It was a war," Six sighed. He book marked his page and turned his eyes to Eight. "Did you want something, Four?"

Eight frowned.

"Do I need a reason to come and talk to my brother?"

"Of course not, it's just that I'm trying to study," Six said, "Mom thinks I could do well in our history classes if I just studied a little more."

"But history is so boring!" Eight whined dramatically. "It's happened, it's passed, why do we have to learn about it again?"

"I thought you liked history," Six looked at him oddly.

Ah, he'd forgotten about that. Four actually seemed to enjoy history, despite never actually participating in the lessons. 

"Well, I've changed my mind," Eight shrugged, "I'm bored of it. Just like I'm bored of this conversation."

He'd spotted Two and One had given up on physically fighting and were simply just arguing now. He scrambled up, sent a grin to Six, and ran off to join Two and see if he wanted to hang out.

Two barely glanced his way when he approached, too engrossed in his argument with One to pay attention to Eight. 

"Hey, Two, wanna hang out?" Eight asked, his voice raised a bit to draw Two's attention.

"N-not n-now, F-Four, I'm b-busy," Two snapped and folded his arms. Even One stopped to cast him an annoyed glance.

"You're just arguing with One," Eight pointed out, "you always do that."

"S-so? Go b-bother Six or T-Three, or s-s-something," Two told him and turned back to One, resuming their argument.

Eight huffed a dramatic sigh, letting his brothers know how annoyed his was. He stalked off, heading back inside to find Three. He'd prefer to hang out with one of his brothers, but as they didn't want to hang out with him, he had no choice. Four was always closer with Three; he seemed to enjoy the things his sister did, such as playing dress up and singing songs, unlike the others.

After running around the house looking for Three, he finally came across her in the living room. She and Seven were talking animatedly about something, so he bounded over and threw himself on the couch beside Seven. His sister startled a little before ducking her head and shifting away a bit to give him some more room. 

“Hey, guys, what’re you talking about?” He asked with a smile.

“Girl stuff,” Three said waspishly. Eight almost stopped smiling, but he forced the expression to stay in place.

“Oh, do tell,” he leaned his chin on the palm of his hands and blinked owlishly at them.

Truthfully, he couldn’t care less about this so-called girl stuff, but the deal was that he’d pretend to be Four for the day, so he put on a look of innocent interest and waited for one of them to tell him the gossip. He’d report back to Four later when they swapped back.

“I was thinking of convincing dad to get me some nail polish,” Three told him, “I’ve seen Mom wear it sometimes and it’s really pretty.”

“Is that, that stuff she paints her nails with?” Eight asked for clarification.

“Yep, and I want some,” Three smiled, “Seven doesn’t want any, but I bet if she wore it, she’d change her mind.”

Seven shook her head quietly, making herself look smaller than she already was. Eight almost pitied her, but he couldn’t help but think that Four would like nail polish, too. It would go well with his eccentric personality. Besides, he was always wearing Three and Seven’s skirts in secret, all he needed was a bit of polish to top his outfit off.

“Awesome,” Eight grinned, “I bet F- I would look nice with nail polish on.”

“You?” Three asked at the same time Seven turned and frowned at him.

“Yeah,” Eight nodded, brows furrowed, “what about it?”

“It’s just… you’re a boy,” Three pointed out.

“So?” Eight snapped and straightened up a little in defence.

“Well, boys don’t wear nail polish.”

“How do _you_ know?”

“Well, only Mom wears it and she’s a girl,” Three said smartly, “besides, have you ever seen a boy wearing nail polish?”

“Well, no, but that doesn’t mean they can’t wear it.”

“Yes, it does.”

“I think he should be allowed to wear it,” Seven said quietly.

“Why?” Three asked as Eight grinned.

“Because he wants to,” Seven shrugged.

“But only girls wear nail polish,” Three pouted.

“That doesn’t mean boys can’t wear it, too,” Seven stood up, “I’m going to my room.”

“Bye. Seven,” Eight waved.

Three turned to him with her arms crossed and stared at him for a long moment. Eight grinned back smugly. Then, she sighed.

“Fine, if I can convince dad to let me have nail polish, you can wear it,” she relented.

“Thank you!” Eight hugged her, only to be pushed away quickly. 

“But if you get in trouble, it’s your own fault,” Three continued. She grabbed a book from beside her on the couch and left the room, leaving Eight by himself.

He stood up from the couch, feeling proud of himself. Now Four could express himself a bit more and he wouldn’t have to hide behind closed doors when he did so. He could paint his nails with Three and he would be happy.

Just as he was going to head to the mirror hanging above the fireplace, the ringing of a bell reached his ears, followed by Mom calling him and the others for lunch. His eyes widened in surprise and barely contained excitement. He had to go to lunch which meant he had to eat. He could eat real food and enjoy the taste of it on his tongue. 

He’d never eaten before. That had been his norm- just follow Four around all day and hope his brother noticed his presence. But now he could actually go and eat food with his siblings. From what he could tell, Mom made the best meals.

“Are you coming or what?” One’s voice broke through his manic thoughts.

“What?” He asked, looking up.

“You’ve been staring at the wall for a minute,” One said with a raised eyebrow, “it’s time for lunch.”

“Oh, right!” Eight grinned and barged past One, running to the dining room.

When he approached, he slowed down to a suitable pace so he wouldn’t get told off and inhaled the smell of a delicious meal before entering the room. He slowly took his position behind Four’s assigned seat and rested his hands on the back of it to quell his excited shaking. He earned an odd look from Five across the table but couldn’t bring himself to care as Reginald’s footsteps entered the room.

He kept his head down, staring with amazement at the food in front of him and waited impatiently for Reginald to let them sit.

“Sit,” Reginald nodded and Eight hastily took his seat at the table. He could feel Five’s and his father’s eyes burning into him as he gripped the edges of his seat, practically holding himself back from devouring the food in front of him. “… You may eat.”

Eight wasted no time in grabbing his knife and fork and tearing into perfectly cooked potatoes and vegetables, and meat, all drowned in gravy. It was practically Heaven on his tongue and he barely held back a groan as his eyes closed of their own accord.

He knew he caught the eye of a few of his siblings and his dad throughout lunch with his odd behaviour, but he couldn’t have cared less in the face of a delicious meal.

When it was over, he waited until he was dismissed before scurrying off back to Four’s room to tell him about how much fun he was having outside of the mirror.

He was almost there when something flashed into appearance in front of him. From a purple portal, out stepped Five. He looked entirely too smug for Eight’s liking, so he rose an eyebrow in question.

“Hi, Five,” he said slowly, “can I help you?”

“Oh, I believe you can, Eight,” Five grinned innocently, but it looked wrong coming from him, and Eight barely suppressed a shudder.

“Eight? I’m not Eight, I think you’ve got the wrong guy, buddy,” Eight laughed nervously. He began to pass Five, only for the other boy to step in front of him.

“Don’t try that with me, Eight,” Five shook his head, “I’m not stupid. I would like to know how you happen to be outside of the mirror, and Four… not outside.”

Eight groaned, knowing the jig was up. Five wasn’t stupid, as he’d said.

“We swapped places, okay? I just wanted to know what it’d be like to be him for a day,” Eight explained.

“And how did you swap?” Five pestered. 

“Four just placed his hands opposite mine on the mirror and the next thing I knew, I was outside the mirror and Four was inside.”

“Were there any side effects? Dizziness? Vomiting? Disorientation?”

“Dis- dis- what?” Eight stuttered.

“Confusion. Were you confused?”

“No, I felt fine,” Eight shook his head.

“What about Four? How did he feel?” Five asked. He looked like he was lapping up every bit of information tossed at him.

Eight thought about how scared Four had sounded when he realised he’d actually swapped places with Eight, and how he’d asked to be let out. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“No, no side effects,” he told Five, “now, if you’ll excuse me.”

This time, Five let him get past and as he hurried back to Four’s room, he heard the tell-tale sign of Five jumping.

As soon as he reached Four’s door, he threw it open and slammed it shut behind him, leaning against it to catch his breath. He hadn’t even run to the room, yet somehow, he was left breathless. 

Leaning away from the door, he slowly approached the mirror that had been left on Four’s bedside table. He gulped, feeling sick. Four wasn’t there.

“Four?” He asked carefully, unsure. “Four? Are you there? It’s me, Eight.”

To his relief, his reflection faded away from view in the mirror, and Four took his place. He was paler than usual, his eyes were red and puffy, as were his cheeks, and he was shaking. 

“Eight, please let me out,” he whimpered immediately, placing his hands on the glass, “I can still hear the ghosts and it’s so dark. Please.”

“I’m so sorry, Four,” Eight cried as tears quickly welled up in his green eyes, “I didn’t know it would be this bad otherwise-“

“It’s okay, Eight, just please let me out of here,” Four sobbed, his breath hitching with every word. “Please.”

Eight nodded and placed his hands opposite Four’s, ready to back into the mirror.

The tugging sensation came along with the feeling of breathlessness, and when he next opened his eyes, he was back behind the mirror. Four was on the floor, his knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around them, and his forehead rested on top of them. His shoulders were shaking and Eight felt awful. He’d done this to his brother. He hadn’t listened to him; he’d left him alone in the dark solitude of the mirror. He should have known Four wouldn’t like it, but instead he’d ignored his cries and swanned off to play pretend.

“Four,” he said softly, trying to wipe away determined tears, “Four, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to upset you. I-I’m sorry.”

This time he couldn’t wipe away the tears as his chest wracked with sobs and his breath caught in his throat over and over again. Snot dribbled from his nose and he wiped it away with his sleeve a couple of times before it got the message.

He looked up when he heard shuffling, and he saw Four standing up slowly. His brother grabbed the mirror and relocated over to the bed where he propped it up against the wall and lay down beside it.

“It’s okay, Eight, really,” Four murmured, one arm under his head and the other as close to the mirror as he could place it without touching it. “If I’d been stuck inside a mirror all my life without anyone to talk to, I’d want to leave, too. It’s fine.”

“But I left you in here even when you asked me to let you out,” Eight shook his head. 

“Eight,” Four said, and Eight closed his mouth, “it’s fine. No hard feelings.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time lapse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half way through i decided i wanted klaus to have his comic powers too and i went back and changed it. So if some of it feels like blocky(?) that's why. Idk if that makes sense, but yeah..

After the swapping fiasco, Reginald, having seen it all on the camera in Four's room, forced them into special training where they would practice swapping places despite Four's fear of being inside the mirror. They also worked on the time it took for Eight to move from mirror to mirror. After many training sessions, they figured out that Eight could, indeed, go inside almost any reflective surface. Some of them messed up his voice, depending on how reflective a surface was. The only thing he had trouble with was liquids because of how much they moved.

By age nine, Four discovered additional powers. He could move things without touching them (Reginald called that telekinesis), and levitate. Their father was sure Four had also managed to possess One, at some point, too, when he'd gotten annoyed with their brother. For some reason, his new powers only worked when he wasn't wearing socks and shoes, though, which meant Four thus wandered the house without his shoes most of the time. 

Unfortunately for Four, new powers also meant more training and a lot more trips to the mausoleum. 

At the age of twelve, seven of the children got tattoos on their wrists to symbolise the Umbrella Academy. The only one not to get a tattoo was Seven because she didn't have powers and she would never go on missions with them. Reginald even went so far as to have Eight and Four swap places so the former could also get his tattoo. The boys almost refused, but Reginald threatened to destroy every mirror in the house.

When they were thirteen, they went on their first mission. It went really well and Eight met them at the bank they were supposed to go to and stood on lookout with Four. With being in any reflective surface he could find, he was able to inform the others of any bad guys that were hiding or simply unaware of the Academy's arrival.

The mission went surprisingly well. One, Two, Three, and Five took out the first few robbers whilst Six used his extra 'limbs' to get rid of the last few hiding out in another room. When it was all over, they let the hostages go and followed them out to be met with a hoard of reporters and civilians desperate to know what was going on.

Reginald announced to the public who they were and with that, cameras everywhere went off. They were allowed half an hour to answer questions from the reporters and the public. Everyone loved them.

A month later, Four had fallen down the stairs wearing Grace's heels and broken his jaw. After getting it wired shut to let it heal, he figured out that drugs kept the ghosts at bay, and that's when he started sneaking out at night to find people in dark parts of town that would sell to a kid. He pawned a lot of Reginald's valuables in order to get cash for his habit. 

It was almost a year after their first public mission when Five disappeared. It happened at dinner when Five struck up another argument with Reginald about the possibility of time travel. As always, Reginald told him no because time travel was too unpredictable, but Five wouldn't accept that and had run away. He didn't return.

Four fell further into drugs than before and none of the others were sure it was just because of the ghosts anymore.

When they turned fourteen, which wasn't long after Five's disappearance, Reginald had Mom name them. As in, a proper name. Not just a number. The children were overjoyed by this fact and could hardly contain themselves when it was time to get their new names.

Mom started with One, as expected, and made her way to the end of the line where Vanya stood shyly with a mirror in her hands facing away from her so everyone could see Eight. 

The names were as such; Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben, Vanya, and Alexander, or Alex as he preferred to be called. Apparently Mom had chosen popular names originating from the countries the children were born in. Klaus and Alex were from Germany. But that didn't matter to them, though, because they had real names!

At nineteen, Ben died. Well, he didn't die so much as the Horrors inside his stomach had killed him. According to the mission report from Luther, he had lost control of the tentacles and they'd ruthlessly torn him apart.

A week later, Reginald put up a statue in the courtyard in honor of Ben and held a small, short ceremony where the children were given the privilege to grieve. 

It took one more week for Ben to appear to Klaus. He didn't look like the way he'd died, unlike all of the other ghosts. Ben told him he'd learned to hide it because he didn't want to upset Klaus.

The next day, Klaus left the Academy. He packed small bag full of things he could sell for drugs, along with a few items of clothes and a mirror. With his headphones around his neck, he crept out of the house in the dead of night and didn't return.

The first thing he did was find a party. A big one where he wouldn't be able to hear the ghosts or Ben trying to convince him to go back home and reconsider. 

A couple of hours into arriving at the the party, he was approached by a handsome man wearing a white tank top and black skinny jeans. The man had apparently seen Klaus from across the bar and had thought him quite handsome himself.

Klaus woke up in his bed the next day.

A year after leaving home, Klaus had found another attractive male whose home he could crash at. He did so under the facade of being with said attractive male. He didn't particularly like the guy- he was too controlling- but he did make the most fantastic osso bucco.

And then he was homeless. Freelancing, he preferred to call it. How could you live a good life if you had things like a house tying you down? Occasionally he would sleep with someone when it got too cold (Ben and Alex didn't approve) or he would check himself into rehab just for a place to stay during the winter, but other than that, he slept on the streets or got himself so high he passed out someplace and woke up in another.

That's how it was for Klaus (and Ben and Alex because they didn't want to leave their brother the way he was, whether they could leave or not.

Sometimes Klaus would swap places with Alex just so his brother could find him a decent motel to stay at or to get him some food when he was too exhausted to move, but when he didn't want to, he kept a pocket mirror on hand for the company (even if he wouldn't admit that aloud).

Life was tough for Klaus, to say the least. He was technically homeless and most days he was too busy funding his drug habit to remember to eat, but, somehow, he was managing to get by. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> Please be sure to leave a comment if you did, I'd really appreciate it<3


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